Chapter 15: Hargeon
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
"Excuse me miss, would you please wake up your friend? The train will be departing soon." The train conductor said to the two people and cat that were still occupying the nearly empty train car.
"Oh, sorry about that." Sayla said sheepishly, blushing lightly. She must have zoned out quite some time ago. She was in such deep thought that she hadn't realized that they had pulled into the station. Her, Natsu, and Morgana were heading towards Hargeon to investigate a 'potential issue'. The pinkette, still not liking trains, was taking a nap with his head resting in the demoness's lap. "Natsu, time to get up."
"Mhmm, too comfortable." Natsu grumbled, causing the demon to blush. Reluctantly so, the pinkette relents and sits up. Yawning, he stretches before looking out the window to see that they were in Hargeon. "Thanks, Sayla." He says before turning towards their exceed companion. "Come on Morgana, get up." He says as he picks up the black and white exceed.
"Why did you wake me up? I was having a great dream about fatty tuna." Morgana said as he moved himself onto Natsu's shoulder.
"Cause if we have to be up, then so do you." Natsu said as him and Sayla made their way off the train. Stepping into the daylight, anyone who has known these three could see just how much they have changed over the years.
Morgana has seen the least amount of change, physically at least. The fully grown exceed is wearing black shorts with a yellow bandana wrapped around his neck. His white guild mark on his back was clear for all to see.
Sayla is wearing a revealing blue leopard-printed kimono which showed off her large breast. The kimono left her shoulders bare, revealing her tattoos adorning both her arms. Wrapped around her waist/torso is a thick, decorative dark green ribbon that ties behind her back. Finishing off her outfit is a pair of high socks that left her heels and toes exposed. Which stopped right below the black guild mark on her upper thigh.
Natsu is wearing an open sleeveless black with gold trim waistcoat, a gold trimmed, white knee-length trousers with black ribbon ties with a black cloth around his waist and a brown belt, a thick black wristband on his left wrist, open-toed sandals and his signature scale-patterned scarf. On both of his arms are bandages wrapped tightly that the red guild mark on the pinkette's right shoulder exposed. Additionally, he has a line of runes tattooed onto his neck. On his left is a red and black wyvern surrounding another rune and below his left collar bone is the phrase 'pu ieta qevj' is tattooed in black ink.
"What exactly are we doing here again?" Morgana asked. Back at the guild, Natsu and Sayla received some information from one of their guild mates that caused the two to leave immediately with the black and white exceed tagging along so that he wouldn't be left out. If there was anything important said about their task, it was either never mentioned or he missed it during his nap. The latter of two would be unlikely due to the pinkette taking his own nap on the train.
"Heard a rumor that someone named Salamander is in town." Natsu said casually as he listened to his surroundings. He could pick out a lot of mumbling, but nothing of interest to him yet.
"But isn't that your moniker?"
"And that's why we're here." Sayla said calmly. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have bothered tagging along for something this trivial. People impersonating famous mages, relatively at least in this instance, isn't that uncommon of an occurrence. While the impersonator will rarely fool another mage, ordinary people are more susceptible to being tricked by the fake. If someone is trying to impersonate Natsu, they can't be up to any good. The pinkette is more than capable of taking care of the situation himself. The only reason the demon tagged along was so that she could get out on an easy trip and stretch her legs. Plus, this trip is an excuse to spend time with Natsu.
"But why pretend to be Natsu?" Morgana asked as he brought his tiny paw up to his chin. The pinkette is a fairly famous, or infamous depending on who you ask, mage. Pretending to be him would only bring more attention than necessary.
Neither Natsu nor Sayla responded. They didn't know the answer.
Slipping into a comfortable silence, the trio walked through the streets. Following the pinkette's lead, they made their way through the streets of Hargeon. They ignored the merchants who were trying to sell them one thing or another.
"It's Salamander!" A high-pitched squeal reached Natsu's ear.
"He's over here!"
"I heard he's a famous mage from Fairy Tail!"
"Found him." Natsu said before the trio turned a corner only to see an excited group of women surrounding someone. "Excuse me." The pinkette said as he pushed his way through the crowd. Reaching the center of the crowd, Natsu was confused to see a tall, slim man wearing an ornate cloak over a white with red accent button up shirt, a pair of red pinstriped pants and black dress shoes. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.
"How dare you insult the great Salamander!"
"Get him!" 'Salamander's' fangirls shouted in rage as they started attacking Natsu. As they tackled the pinkette, all they managed to do was annoy Natsu as he didn't budge an inch.
"Now, now. That's no way to treat the man." 'Salamander' was trying to figure out what was happening. He didn't expect some random guy to approach him. usually, any man in proximity would grumble in annoyance and leave. Plus, he couldn't understand why the pinkette wasn't physically bothered by the girls attacking him. "You cannot blame him for not knowing who I am. Who knows what kind of rock he has been living under." Seeing the irritated look Natsu was giving him, the impersonator began to sweat. "Allow me to introduce myself. Maybe you have heard of me. I am the great Salamander of Fairy Tai…" 'Salamander' was cut off as he was punched and sent flying into a nearby stone wall.
"Salamander!" The girls cried out in unison. They tried to move to help the idol but found themselves unable to move. The only ones able to move was Sayla as she walked up to her partner with Morgana riding on her shoulder.
"So, this is the fake." Sayla said as she sent an annoyed glare towards the impersonator.
"The idiot already admitted it." Natsu said as he picked the faker up by the throat. "And look at what he has here." He said as he grabbed the blue haired man's wrist and brought it up for the others to see. On his ring finger was a shiny silver ring.
"That's a charm ring." Morgana said as he eyed the piece of jewelry.
"What is going on here?!" a group of rune knights said as they cut their way through the crowd and approached the group of mages. "You there, release that man at once!" the commanding officer yelled at Natsu as his men aimed their weapons at the real Fairy Tail mages.
"Caught a guy trying to impersonate me." Natsu said casually, not at all bothered by the knights rather poor attempt to threaten them. "Sayla," he gestured towards his partner.
"Tell us who you are." Sayla commanded as she used her Macro.
"I'm Bora of Prominence." The now named Bora said before his eyes widen in shock. His now former fangirls all gasped in shock.
"What were you trying to accomplish here?"
"I was going to use this charm ring to lure these girls to a party on my yacht. After that, I was going to smuggle them to Bosco and sell them as slaves. I was impersonating Salamander because of his fame and no one knowing what he looks like." Bora was sweating now. He had just admitted to his crimes in front of the Rune Knights. If he doesn't escape now, he's looking at a long prison sentence. "Prominence Flame!" he shouts as he shoots a stream of purple flames towards the pinkette's face. Seeing the attack hit, Bora gained a sliver of confidence only to lose it as he felt the pinkette's grip tighten around his throat.
Hearing a slurping sound, Bora's eyes widen in fear as he watches his fire being slurped up by the pinkette.
"What kind of half assed Fire mage are you?" Natsu said as he visibly recoiled in disgust. Those purple flames were easily the worst tasting fire he has ever tasted. Raising his fist, Natsu punches his faker again, this time knocking him out. The pinkette turned his attention back to the Rune Knights. "Happy" he asked rhetorically as he tossed Bora's unconscious body to their feet.
The fangirls have made themselves scarce and fled when Bora tried to attack Natsu.
The commanding officer of the Rune Knights grumbled in annoyance. "Thank you for the assistance in apprehending such a dangerous criminal." The officer said in the most rehearsed tone he could muster. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with Fairy Tail mages. Unlike other guilds, Fairy Tail has no problem with getting into fights with Rune Knights. Best to be civil and let the Council deal with them later.
"Need help with the rest of them?" Natsu offered. Just because they apprehended the boss, it isn't a good idea to let a bunch of slave traders go.
"I appreciate the offer, but we should be fine. Odds are the rest of the crew are nothing more than cannon fodder. Plus, there is only one yacht in port. We should have no issue apprehending them." That was his official response anyways. Unofficially, he doesn't want the trios help because he doesn't want to find out how much destruction they'll cause.
"Then if you don't need anything else, we'll be on our way." Sayla cut in, already wanting to be done with these knights. She was starting to get tired of the more brazen ones blatantly checking her out.
"You heard her." Natsu said as the three of them left the Rune Knights to themselves.
"At least that was quick and easy." Morgana said as he was moved to be held in Sayla's arms. "What do you guys want to do now?"
"Excuse me." A voice said from behind them. Turning around, the trio see a girl with long blonde hair wearing a white top with blue accents with a zipper pulled down far enough to show off plenty of cleavage, a blue skirt that showed off her smooth legs and a pair of brown boots.
"Can we help you with something?" Natsu asked, feeling like he has met this girl somewhere before. Her scent is familiar, but he can't place where.
"I just wanted to thank you guys." The blonde said cheerfully. "I can't believe that creep was using Charm magic. There's a reason the Magic Council outlawed that magic."
"Glad to help." Morgana said cheerfully.
"Wait, a talking cat?!" the blonde was shocked. She had heard of many magical creatures but talking cats is something that she has never seen.
"Close, but not quite." Natsu said quickly before Morgana could respond. For some reason, the exceed never liked being referred to as a cat. Something about seeing it as a put down. "Anyways, glad we could help, but we kind of did that by coincidence." He said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.
"Still, let me treat you three to lunch. It's the least I could do." She offered, trying to seem as friendly as possible. "My name's Lucy by the way."
Not ones to skip a meal, the Fairy Tail mages took the blonde up on her offer.
30 Minutes Later
After watching how much Natsu and Morgana could eat, Lucy was regretting her offer them a meal as thanks. Looking at the stacks of plates that were building up just burned a whole through her savings. She would have cried on the spot if she wasn't out in public. At least Sayla wasn't cruel and seemed content with her pasta dish.
"Man, that was good. Thanks Lucy." Natsu said as he put down the plate he had just finished. "So, what brings you to Hargeon?"
"Oh, I was just passing through." She answered, happy to have something to take her thoughts off the amount of food she had just witnessed be eaten. "I would have left already if I didn't fall under that Charm spell. What about you guys? What brings you here?"
"Heard a rumor that someone was pretending to be me, so we jumped on a train to check it out." Natsu replied as he reached for his drink and took a sip.
"That makes sense." Impersonators could be hazardous not only for a mage's reputation but to their guild as well. Following that line of thought, it's a good thing Natsu stopped that fake Salamander from impersonating hi… "Wait a minute!" Lucy almost shouts as her eyes go wide. "You're the real Salamander?!" Lucy almost yelled, only to realize how loud she was being and blush profusely before sitting back down. "Are you really Salamander?" The blonde was understandably cautious. She's already been lied too once today. "Does that mean you're really part of Fairy Tail?"
"Yep, I don't have a way to prove it. But here's my guild mark if that helps." Natsu said as he gestured towards his guild mark on his arm. Hearing that, Morgana stood up on his seat and turned around to show his mark on his back.
"I can't believe it, you're actually from Fairy Tail!" Lucy almost squealed in excitement. So soon after she started her journey, the blonde had met mages from her favorite guild. Looking at them only briefly, her gaze lingered on Sayla a little longer than the others. The Fairy Tail mages could practically hear the gears turning in her head. "Wait, I recognize you." Lucy said excitedly before diving into her bag and pulling out a magazine. In her fangirl moment, the blonde didn't believe the reality of the situation that she accidentally ended up having a meal with one of her idols. "You're the Goddess of the Chill Moon, Sayla." Lucy says as she opens the most recent issue of Sorcerer's Weekly to a centerfold of Sayla posing with Mira.
"It's good to meet you, it's not often that I get to meet a fan." In truth, Sayla wasn't a fan of the attention that she got from Sorcerer's Weekly. The only reason she ever did the interviews was either out of boredom or to get them to leave her alone. At first, she didn't think she would enjoy the photo shoots. She was proven wrong when Mira talked her into joining her in one of the model's shoots.
"I can't believe I didn't recognize you right away." Lucy said excitedly, much to the amusement of the others.
"Don't worry about it, it happens." The demon tried to placate the excited blonde.
"You sure happen to know a lot about our guild Lucy." Morgana said Lucy seems more excited than others when it comes to legal guilds and their mages.
"Well, that's because…" Lucy paused to work up the courage. She really doesn't want to blow this opportunity. "I'm a mage myself and I want to join your guild." Hearing this, the Fairy Tail mages were quiet, each with their own confused expression. Seeing the look on their faces, Lucy feels her heart begin to drop. Had she miss read the situation. Was she too hopeful or direct in her approach. What if she had blown her chances right at the start of her journey.
"Ok," Natsu was the first to say anything. "That's fine and all, but why were you so nervous just to say that." The pinkette could hear Lucy's heartbeat and was genuinely shocked that she hadn't had a heart attack given how fast it's beating. If she's such a huge fan of the guild, hasn't she heard of how easy it is to join.
Lucy felt like she was visibly sweating in the moment. She's ready to tiptoe through this minefield and save face in some capacity. "I was hoping to get some advice on how to join the guild. Maybe I can do something to convince you three to put in a good word with your guild master." Lucy didn't intend to sound so unsure or insecure in this moment. But her nerves were starting to get the better of her.
"Ok, I see." Natsu said, his voice gaining a degree of seriousness that is rarely heard from him. "If you want to join our guild then you must complete one of the most intense task you can imagine." Hearing the pinkette's words, Morgana and Sayla stiffened up and put on the most serious/professional looks they could. Natsu's in the zone and they do not want to interrupt.
Lucy was subconsciously holding her breath. Preparing to commit everything to memory, she wants to leave such a lasting impression on the guild master that he can't possibly resist her entry to their guild.
"First what you do is walk into the guild." The pinkette said, alluding to the guild as a metaphorical lion's den. "Then you walk up to the master." Lucy's eyes had shrunken to the size of pin pricks just from hearing the pinkette's grave tone. "Now this part is the most crucial. You can't afford to mess this up."
If the blonde had a note pad ready, she would be writing this down to study as if it was religious doctrine.
"You must recite this exact phrase to the master." The gravity of the situation made Lucy want to shrink in on herself as she felt Natsu towering over her despite the fact that he was still sitting. "You must say 'Hi, can I join your guild?'. Only then will you be allowed to join Fairy Tail." Natsu said sagely as he closed his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest. An action mimicked by his partners.
The world around them had seemed to disappear as Lucy processed the words she had heard. Never had she felt more uncomfortable. The gears in her head had come to a screeching halt as she felt more confusion than she has ever felt. "What? That's… that's it?"
"Pfft." The Fairy Tail mages couldn't hold themselves back anymore as they broke down laughing. They caught the attention of other patrons in the restaurant. What didn't help the situation was how red the blonde's face had turned.
"Sorry, Lucy. But we couldn't pass up the chance." Morgana said as he began to wipe away the tears that had pooled in the corner of his eyes.
"Fairy Tail doesn't have any test to get in the guild. The only requirement is that you can use magic." Sayla felt the sympathy for the poor blonde. But for the life of her, she doesn't understand why everyone thinks joining their guild is so difficult.
"That's it?! No test, or… or admission fee or anything like that?!" Lucy couldn't process how easy it is to join the guild. Fairy Tail is one of the top guilds in the country. How can they have such laxed admission requirements.
"Nope. Fairy Tail is a place for people to come together. So long as you find the idea of family and adventure appealing, you're more than qualified." Natsu said as he came down from his laughing fit. "Hell, it's against the rules for Gramps to turn away anyone that wants to join. You really have to screw up just to get kicked out."
"Then I can join?" Lucy asked, wanting to hear confirmation that she can make her dreams come true.
"Yep," Natsu said as he signaled their waiter to bring them their check. "We're heading back to the guild, why don't you come with us?" he said as he pulled out an amount of jewels and placed it on the table.
"Oh, I can get that." Lucy said, still desperate to make a good first impression.
"It's fine, I don't think you knew what you were getting into when you offered to buy lunch. Plus, think of it as an apology for messing with you." Natsu said as he stood up from their table with Morgana quickly climbing onto his shoulder.
Leaving the restaurant, the group made their way to the train station. Lucy was barely able to contain her giddiness.
Getting their own cabin, they took up their seats. Sayla took a spot next to the window with Natsu next to her while Lucy took the spot opposite to the demon with Morgana next to her. As soon as the train started to move, Natsu moved himself to rest his head in Sayla's lap with the demoness happily welcoming him.
"Ugh, is that normal?" Lucy asked, blushing slightly.
"Natsu doesn't like trains. This makes the trips more tolerable for him." Sayla said as she started running her fingers through the pinkette's head.
Time Skip
"You ready Lucy?" Natsu asked the blonde as they walked up to the guild hall doors.
"I can't believe I'm finally here." Lucy quietly mumbles to herself; her excitement was clear to the others. "Hold on, give me a moment to compose my…" Shaking herself out of her stupor, she was cut off as Natsu raised his foot and kicked the guild doors wide open.
"Hey, we're back!" Natsu shouts as he walks in with Morgana riding on his shoulder.
"Self." The blonde said quietly, not expecting the pinkette to make such an abrupt entrance. Part of her wanted to hide in a corner to keep all the wandering eyes off her.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Sayla tried to reassure Lucy as she walked in. With how 'unique' the guild is, it's better to let Lucy get used to the absurdity now.
"Natsu!" Sting shouts as he rushes his brother with a fist coated in magic.
"Hey Sting." The pinkette grabs the blonde boy's fist and throws him across the guild hall. "Nice try, Sting. But if you're going to try a direct approach then you need to be faster than that."
Just below Natsu, his shadow begins expanding as it grew darker. Slowly, Rogue's face is shown just before he jumps out of the shadow with the intent of landing an uppercut.
"Not happening, Rogue." Natsu says as he side steps the punch before kicking the Shadow Dragon Slayer across the guild hall, crashing into Sting who had just gotten back on his feet. "Nice try, but it was too obvious." He says before raising a fist and catching Wendy's foot as she dropped from the ceiling. Smirking mischievously, he throws her towards their brothers, causing the three of them to crash against the wall in defeat. "If you guys tried to coordinate those attacks, you would have succeeded." Natsu says before the guild hall erupts in a choir of cheers and boos.
Many of the guild members had placed bets on whether the younger Dragon Slayers would have been successful this time.
"Dammit Natsu! Do you have any idea how many jewels you just made me lose!" A random guild member shouted as he threw a beer bottle at the pinkette.
Natsu, laughing at his guild mate's dismay, catches the bottle and throws it back at the mage, causing him to crash into a nearby table. The ruckus caused a few more of the present mages to grow agitated before one thing led to another and a guild wide brawl broke out.
"What just happened?!" Lucy didn't think things would be this chaotic. She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of why everyone is fighting each other.
"Trust me it's normal." Sayla said as she tried to guide the blonde over towards the bar. There aren't many safe places during a brawl, but the bar is one of the places that many of the mages try to avoid damaging. When it comes to the bar itself, nothing is worth incurring the wrath of Makarov, Gildarts, or Cana if anything cuts their supply of booze short.
"Hi Sayla. I see that task didn't take you guys too long." Lisanna says cheerfully as she sees the demoness approach the bar before her eyes landed on Lucy. "Oh, who's this?"
"It's good to see you to Lisanna. That errand was laughably easy." She says before gesturing towards the blonde. "This is Lucy, she's looking to join the guild."
"Hi, I'm Lisanna Strauss." Lisanna introduced herself, her friendly and cheerful personality was on full display. "I'm one of the bartenders when I'm not out on jobs with my siblings." The white-haired mage says.
"It's good to meet you." Lucy says as she laughs nervously. "Is it really ok to let them continue like this." She asks as she point towards the fighting.
"Don't worry about them, that's just how we have fun occasionally."
'I can't believe this is really normal.' Lucy thought for a moment. It's just one of the things she's going to have to get used to. "Who were those kids that attacked Natsu?"
"Those are Natsu's siblings. The blonde one is Sting, the one that came out of the shadow is Rogue, and the girl is Wendy."
"Why did they attack him?"
"Natsu's been training them since they were really young. He gave them the task that they must land one successful hit on him to progress their training." The Dragon Slayer siblings have been trying to land a hit on Natsu for weeks. Slowly but surely, they've been getting closer. Unfortunately, Natsu always seems one step ahead. He could slow himself down and let them get a hit, but it won't benefit them if he takes it easy on them during their training. Igneel didn't after all.
"Ok… then." Lucy could tell that she would be better off not asking more questions about that.
"I'll let master know that you would like to join the guild." Lisanna said. She would have made her way up towards, but a bottle flying towards her face stopped made her freeze in her tracks. It would have hit her if it wasn't for Sayla using her Macro to stop the bottle. "Thanks, Sayla. That would have hurt."
"You're welcome." Sayla said as she took the bottle and slid it down the bar towards the buxom Brunette enjoying her drink a few feet away. "Here you go, Cana. Someone else's drink on them."
"Thanks Sayla." Cana thanked the demoness with a mischievous smirk before taking a swig of the bottle. Said brunette is wearing a blue bikini top that barely contained her large breast, a pair of tight-fitting brown capri pants and a pair of high heeled sandals. The black guild mark above her hip was left exposed.
A loud blast of magical energy caught their attention. "How dare you throw a bottle at my little sister!" Mira yelled at the poor bastard was just sent flying through the guild hall's wall. Rushing behind the bar, holding her sister, the model began fretting over the younger Take Over mage. "Are you ok, Lisanna?"
"Oh my god, it's Mirajane." Lucy once again felt herself trying to contain her excitement. Given the confused look that Mira was giving her, she wasn't successful. (AN: Mira's outfit is her goth outfit from last chapter)
"You must be new." Mira said as she let go of her sister. "Welcome to the guild, just call me Mira by the way."
"WHAT ARE YOU BRATS DOING TO MY GUILD HALL!" A booming voice shouted out, causing the mages in the hall to stop in their tracks. A tall imposing shadow towered over everyone.
"There you are, Master." Lisanna said cheerfully, much to Lucy's shock.
"Master?! That's the guild master?!" The blonde was second guessing if she actually had the nerve to ask to join the guild.
"You brats have done it this time!" Makarov said as he shrunk down to his normal size. "Look at all these complaints from the Council!" He shouted as he stood on the railing on the second floor as he pulled out a stack of papers. "Gray, you were once again seen parading through town naked."
"I was trying to find my clothes. The damn Rune Knights kept hassling me." Gray tried to defend himself.
"Elfman, you assaulted your client on your previous job!"
"That idiot tried to argue with me about how to be manly." For the middle Strauss sibling, he may have overreacted a bit. But at least he got the job done.
"Natsu! Do you have any idea how badly you traumatized those bandits you apprehended?!" Thanks to the pinkette, multiple therapists must travel to the prison to help those poor bandits mentally recover. So far, the bandits are still pale and muttering nonsensically.
"I'm not apologizing." Natsu said plainly as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"And from there, the complaints just keep piling up. And do you know what I have to say about that? Screw the Council!" Makarov shouted as he used a small fire spell, ignited the papers and tossed them up into the air, earning a cheer from his children. Natsu was quick to catch the flames before anything could be set on fire. "Any power that surpasses reason still stems from reason. Magic isn't a miraculous power. It's a skill that only works when the flow of energy within us is in perfect harmony with the energy of the world around us. To truly harness that harmony, one must train their mind and focus. You should become one with your magic. If all we do is worry about following the rules set out for us. Then we can never truly progress. Not only in our magic but ourselves. Don't allow the Council to bully you into following their ideals. Follow the path you deem right for yourselves."
The guild couldn't contain themselves anymore and let out a loud cheer at Makarov's words. His words solidified why they believe Fairy Tail to be the real number one guild in the nation.
Lucy felt a tear roll down her face. This is the guild for her.
Jumping down from the railing, the guild master walks over to the bar. "Can you poor me a beer Lisanna?" he ask as he makes himself comfortable on the bar top.
"Coming right up master." Lisanna said as she reached for a mug.
"Hell of a speech, Gramps." Natsu said as him and his siblings came up to the bar.
"Thank you, my boy. And thank you for showing some restraint in Hargeon. I've already received word from the Rune Knight garrison stationed there. Good news is they apprehended the rest of the slavers without any issue."
"Oh yeah, speaking of which." Natsu said as he reached out for Lucy's wrist and pulled her closer towards Makarov. "This is Lucy. Sayla and I met her in Hargeon."
"Ugh, hi." Lucy said nervously.
"Hello, my dear. How may help you today?"
"Well, I was hoping that I could join your guild, sir."
"Of course, Lisanna, if you would." Makarov said as he took his pint and took a big drink.
"What color would you like and where would you like it?" Lisanna asked as she pulled the magical stamp from beneath the bar top.
"Just like that?" Lucy almost shouted. Natsu and Sayla told her it would be easy, but hearing is one thing and seeing and relaxed they are about anyone joining the guild is another.
"Of course. Anyone is accepted in our guild. Your past doesn't matter to us."
"Then, can I have it in pink and on the back of my hand, please?"
"Sure thing." Lisanna said as she placed the mark.
Pulling it away, Lucy's eyes widen as she sees that she is officially a member of Fairy Tail.
"Told you, you had nothing to worry about, Luigi." Natsu teased as took a seat at the bar. "Can I get a fire whiskey, Lis?"
"Coming right up."
"Thank you guys so much." Lucy was still admiring her guild mark. It took her a moment to realize what the pinkette had said. "It's Lucy, damnit!"
"A feisty one, you'll fit right in." Makarov chuckled. "Ok, let's celebrate Lucy joining our family." He said, once again getting a cheer from the guild.
"Excuse me, Gramps. Have you heard anything from my father yet?" A small boy asks as he approached the guild master.
"Sorry, Romeo. I still haven't heard a word from him."
"Then can you send someone to look for him. He's been gone for three days. Mt. Hakobe isn't even that far." Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes. It's his fault that his Macao went such a dangerous job. Macao said that he would only be gone for a day and half.
"Have faith in your father, my boy. He's a Fairy Tail mage after all."
"I'll go have a look, Gramps." Natsu said before he finished his drink and stood up from the bar. "You guys want to tag along." The pinkette asked as he turned towards his siblings.
"I'll go." Sting said excitedly. He never passes a chance to go on a job with any of his siblings.
"I'll pass, I'm going to go visit Porlyusica and ask her to show me more healing spells." Wendy said. Ever since she met the guild's unofficial healer, she takes whatever chance she can to learn from her. It doesn't help that the older healer reminds the Sky Dragon Slayer so much of her mother.
"I'll pass too. I'm not a fan of the cold." Rogue said, the only reason why he wasn't going was because he knew both of his brothers would be fine. Plus, Sting has a broken ability to refill his magic container. All he has to do is eat something white or absorb light. Him on a mountain of all places is nothing to worry about, with the exception of the cold weather. And that's not even factoring in Natsu being Natsu.
"You three want to go?" Natsu asked Sayla, Mira, and Cana.
"That'll be overkill, I think we'll sit this one out." Sayla said, earning a confused look from the other two. The demoness never spoke for anyone else. She may be trying to spare them from freezing, though that was unlikely given that they felt a strange tingle in the back of their mind compelling them to just go with it.
"I'll sit this one out two." Morgana said as he hopped off Natsu's shoulder and landed on the bar. "I want to get back to training with Panther Lily." The older exceed has made it his goal to educate the younger ones in whatever they need. In regard to Morgana specifically, he has been training the younger exceed in swordsman ship amongst other things.
"I'll pass to. I'm not a big fan of freezing in the middle of the mountain." Lector said. He's been unfortunate enough to travel to Mt. Hakobe once before. He's more than happy to not repeat that experience.
"Ok, let's get going Sting." Natsu said as him and his blonde brother headed towards the door. "Don't worry Romeo, we'll find your dad and be back before it gets dark."
"Lucy; since your new here, would you like me to show you around Magnolia?" Lisanna asked. Over the years, she's seen a number of mages get overwhelmed with trying to get settled in.
"Sure, that would be nice. Thank you." The blonde wasn't going to turn away such an offer. She was going to go out and find a place to stay anyways, might as well get help from someone that knows where to find everything.
"So, what are you up to, Sayla?" Mira asked as she watched her sister lead the new girl out into the city. Romeo made himself scarce while Makarov headed back to his office to get back to the mountain of paperwork. She knows the demoness well enough to know when she's up to something. There's always a slight shift in her ordinarily laid-back demeanor.
"Yeah, it's been awhile since you tried to use your Macro on us." Cana was just as quick to pick up on the situation. Sure, Natsu and Sting won't need help with finding Macao and none of them want to go to Mt. Hakobe for obvious reasons. But Sayla doesn't casually throw her curse around for no reason. Especially on people that are familiar with it.
Gesturing them to follow, the three women walked towards the guild's library. During this time of day, most of their guild mates would either be out on jobs or lounging around in the hall. The only one that spent a considerable amount of time in the library is Levy and she just so happened to be in the former group. If there was a place that would give them privacy and was close by, this was it.
"So what's going on Sayla?" Mira asked.
"Simple, I want to propose an offer." Sayla responded as she turned towards her companions.
"And that is?" Cana could already tell this was going to be a hassle.
"I want to propose that we share Natsu." Sayla said, shocking the other two.
"What are you talking about?!" Both girls almost yelled. It was no secret amongst the three of them that they each had feelings for Natsu. But this was the first time any of them had voiced their interest. Previously, outside of some awkward glares and possessive yet subtle actions, the three of them had a silent agreement to not bring up their feelings to avoid unnecessary drama. As much as they cared for the pinkette, they were too scared to jeopardize their friendship. Their own insecurity hindering their actions.
"Exactly as I said." The demoness had to hide how much she enjoyed their reactions. It would only be counter productive to what she's working for. "I'm suggesting that the three of us share Natsu. I don't understand what was hard to understand about that."
"What's are to understand is why would any of us want to share Natsu." Getting over her shock, Mira struggled to understand the demoness's reasoning.
"It's called compromise." If things continued to progress in the 'traditional' manner, many people are going to be hurt. As much as Sayla loves tragic stories, she does not want to see any of the people she cares about succumb to such a tale. At least this way she still gets what she wants.
"That still doesn't explain why would we agree to this." While it's not the worse idea Cana has heard, she doesn't know how she would feel about it.
"It's just a suggestion so that everyone can be happy. Plus, if we agree to this than we can set the ground rules for when other girls want to join."
"What makes you think we'll let other girls join?" Sayla's response came in only a mischievous smirk. The three of them think that Erza may be interested in Natsu as well, she just seems more conflicted about it for some reason. And there's at least one other girl in the guild that also has a crush on the pinkette.
"There's also the benefit that if Natsu isn't around, then we can keep each other company." Sayla added, earning a fierce blush from both Mira and Cana.
"Wait, you mean we…" Mira was being uncharacteristically embarrassed in that moment.
"Why not?" the demoness said as she shrugged her shoulder. If there's one thing she can't deny is that Natsu has great taste in women. "Besides, I'm not expecting an answer right now. I just wanted to give you two something to think about. Oh, and if you're against this whole idea, than you're going to want to take the initiative instead of waiting for Natsu to take the first step."
"Why's that?" The Card mage asked.
"Because I'm not that patient. I'm only bringing this idea up to you two first as a courtesy to our friendship." Sayla had contemplated waiting until after she had hooked up with Natsu to propose such an idea. That way, no matter how things played out, it would work out for the demoness. But it was too much of a dirty trick to use on people she cares about.
Watching as the demoness walked out of the library, both girls were left stunned. "Well, I didn't expect this kind of conversation." Cana is going to need a few drinks just to process what had just happened. She'll need a few more to make a choice.
"At least Sayla's giving us enough time to think it over" Mira said sarcastically. Between the demoness and the pinkette, the Take Over mage has no idea which of them is worse about making situations more complicated.
With Natsu and Sting
"Is it just me, or is there always a storm here?" Sting asked as he stood close to Natsu. The pinkette can generate enough body heat thanks to his magic that the blonde can get away with wearing his normal clothes.
"Not quite, but I get what you mean." It seems like there's a storm every eight or nine times out of ten. Sniffing the air, Natsu could barely find a scent. With the howling winds, even he's having a difficult time placing where everything is. "Let's keep an eye out for any sign of fighting. That'll be our best bet at finding a trace of Macao."
"What makes you say that?"
"He came here to eliminate thirty vulcans. I know very few mages who can take on that many and not leave a trace. And Macao isn't one of them." Vulcans may not be the strongest of the magical creatures found in Ishgar, but they can be a huge pain in the ass for weaker mages. Macao is by no means weak, but thirty might be pushing it if any of them catches him off guard.
Trekking up the mountain, both Dragon Slayers struggled to see beyond a few feet in front of them. Natsu was busy trying to look out for tracks while keeping an eye on Sting to make sure they don't get separated.
After an hour of nothing, the two stumbled upon a battlefield, or at least what remains of one. There were various scorch marks that left the earth beneath the snow exposed while bodies of vulcans were spread out.
"Found the fight." Sting said as he scanned the area. He couldn't see or smell Macao amongst the bodies.
"One of them at least." With just a quick scan, Natsu could tell that there weren't enough bodies.
"Look, over there." Sting almost shouted as he pointed towards a cave. In front of the cave looks to be some tracks. "Even if Macao's not there, we'll at least get out of this snowstorm."
"Good idea." Natsu said as they headed towards the cave. As they walked past the dead vulcans, the pinkette kept an eye on the bodies to make sure that none of them were going to get up. He would have burned the bodies just to be sure, but Sting is too close to them and the smell of burning vulcan lingers.
Walking in and seeing a few more vulcan bodies lying around, a small puddle of red blood staining the floor caught the Dragon Slayers' attention.
"Humans!" a vulcan roared out as he leapt towards the two mages with both of its fists raised above its head.
Catching both fists in his hands, Natsu throws the Vulcan across the cave. Watching it collapse on the floor momentarily before getting back on its feet, the pinkette catches the scent of the creature. Noticing that it doesn't smell as bad as the rest of its species, Natsu let's out a sigh of annoyance. "Sting, why don't you take this one."
"Sure thing." The blonde said excitedly as his fist were coated in his magic.
"Just make sure you knock it out quick."
Sting stopped himself from stumbling when he heard his brother. Natsu normally doesn't care if a dangerous creature is killed or not. Curiosity getting the better of him, Sting sniffs the air before his eyes widen in realization. "Oooh, I get it now."
Dashing forward, Sting side steps punches coming from the vulcan.
The vulcan, letting out a frustrated growl, puts both of his hands together, raises them above his head and smashes them on the floor. He can't smash the puny human, then he'll make the pipsqueak lose his footing than smash him. Grinning as he sees the blonde stumble from the force of the impact, the vulcan throws a haymaker at the White Dragon Slayer.
Bringing his arms to block the hit, Sting grits his teeth as he's sent flying towards an ice-covered wall. Flipping himself midair, the blonde props himself up against the ice-covered wall. Smirking, Sting dashes forward again. Seeing the vulcan raising its hands again, Sting slides underneath the attack and beneath the creature's legs.
Blasting a small wave of magic to keep himself from missing his mark, the blonde jumps up. Coating his foot in magic, he kicks the Vulcan in the side of the head, sending the creature flying into the same wall that it had sent the blonde just moments ago.
Landing on his feet, Sting quickly turns to check on the Vulcan. If it's still up, it'll need another good kick.
Fortunately enough, a cloud of smoke surrounded the downed vulcan. When it dissipated, Macao's unconscious form was all that remained.
"Good job, Sting." Natsu said as he went to check up on the older Fire mage. Engulfing his hand in his healing green flames, the pinkette quickly heals the downed mage while he's still unconscious. He'd rather not hear someone he respects and cares for yelling out in agony.
"Ow, my head." Macao groaned in pain as he tried to rub the injury to alleviate the pain. Looking around, he is surprised to see the two Dragon Slayers. "Natsu? Sting? What are you two doing here?"
"Came looking for you." Natsu said as he helped Macao get back on his feet. "You've been gone for a couple days and Romeo was getting scared."
"Shit." He curses under his breath. "That last vulcan caught me off guard. Thanks for saving my ass." While tough Macao had managed to beat twenty-nine of the vulcans. He was so caught up in the moment that he never heard the last one till it was to late. "All I wanted to do was make Romeo proud to call me his father." In truth, the only reason he took this job in the first place was to make his son happy.
"Well, how many kids can say their dad took out so many vulcans by himself. Besides, I think Romeo would just be happy to have you back." Natsu said as he helped the older mage towards the entrance of the cave.
Groaning at the sight of the outside conditions, Macao became even more thankful for how things turned out. He isn't in the mood to trek through the mountain again. "You going to use that new spell of yours?"
"You know. Thought it would be to mean to make you walk all the way back." The pinkette said with a chuckle. "Let's go Sting." He said as the three mages made their way back to the guild
Yes I'm back, back again with another chapter. This update was long overdue. But for once it wasn't because of writer's block, I was just having a lot of fun working on my OP story which meant this story was neglected.
Hopefully all of you don't mind the shorter chapter, these next few chapters will probably be on the shorter side, relatively for my updates at least.
For anyone curious I will be including lemons in this story. If I have any issues with this site, I'll remove the lemons and reupload them to AO3.
Onto the reviews.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you for the review, glad you liked it
jeremiahkelley93: Thank you
The-real-dragon-rider: FF is weird with their rules and guidelines. I checked and didn't see anything that explicitly said sexual content wasn't allowed. I know some authors have had issues but I don't see any real consistency with how rules are implemented. If I have any issues I'll just remove the lemons and upload them to ao3. Thank you for the review, it was very helpful and inciteful.
Lord of everyone: You'll be getting your wish for lemons shortly enough, hopefully. I can't reveal anything about END because it contains spoilers.
Tfuinsah: Thank you for reminding me why I can't bring myself to go back and read those earlier chapters. I had no idea what I was doing back then.
warriorgod626: Glad you're still enjoying this story. I'll keep updating as long as people still seem interested.
Write Your Wrongs: He's a man of culture and refined taste.
Ltbutterfly287: That's a product of me being an inexperienced writer when I wrote that chapter.
chipsandfish2: You got it.
Aedwards179: Thank you for clarifying that, for some reason I was under the impression that Erza and Mira were much younger when they got their S Class ranks. In case you didn't see, I admittedly did a bad job with this, I'm playing around with the timeline. Natsu is about the same age as Erza and Mira and has spent more time training with Igneel and Nobunaga.
That's it for reviews. As always let me know what you think about this chapter. If you have any questions then feel free to either ask it in the reviews and I'll answer it in the next update or PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Till next time.
Mreh.
